The present invention relates to a double bearing type or baitcasting type reel for fishing.
It is a conventional method to give a braking force to a rotating spool so as to prevent the occurrence of backlash caused by an excessive rotation of the spool in the case of releasing a fishing line, for example, in the case of casting a fishing line. As a backlash preventing device for giving a braking force to the rotating spool, there is known a centrifugal force braking device (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-79665) in which a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the spool is used, and also there are known magnetic braking devices (Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication Nos. 6-8695 and 6-16511) in which a magnetic force is used for braking.
The above centrifugal force braking device is operated as follows. By a centrifugal force generated when a spool is rotated, a braking plate rotating integrally with the spool is moved in the radial direction of the spool, so that the braking plate is made to come into sliding contact with a predetermined portion of a reel body and a frictional force is generated. The spool is given a braking force by the frictional force.
The above magnetic braking device is operated as follows. An electric conductor rotating integrally with a spool is positioned in a magnetic field formed by a magnet. By an electromagnetic force generated by the rotation of the electric conductor, the electric conductor is given a braking force, and at the same time the spool rotating together with the electric conductor is given a braking force.
However, in the above centrifugal braking device, the frictional force generated by the centrifugal force (i.e. the frictional force is generated between a braking piece moved by the centrifugal force and a reel body with which the braking piece comes into contact) is proportional to the square of a rotational speed of the spool. Therefore, when a rotational speed of the spool is increased higher than a predetermined value after the start of casting, the frictional braking force is suddenly increased, and the rotational speed of the spool is suddenly decreased. Accordingly, a flying distance of a fishing tackle is reduced. When the rotational speed of the spool is decreased at the end of casting, the frictional force is greatly decreased, and the phenomenon of backlash tends to occur. In this case, an appropriate thumbing operation is required, but the appropriate thumbing operation, in turn, requires the skill. It is, therefore, difficult for a beginner to conduct a thumbing operation appropriately. Since braking is conducted by a frictional force, noise is generated, and further, problems may be encountered in the viewpoints of durability and maintenance of the performance.
In this connection, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-68455, there is proposed a reel for fishing in which a plurality of centrifugal braking devices are combined with each other so that a braking force is successively given to a spool by two steps. However, the above type reel for fishing is disadvantageous in that the structure becomes complicated and the size of the entire reel is extended. As a result, the manufacturing cost is raised.
On the other hand, in the aforementioned magnetic braking device, the braking force is changed substantially in proportion to the rotational speed of the spool. Accordingly, unlike the centrifugal braking device, there is no possibility that the braking force is greatly changed according to a change in the rotational speed of the spool. Therefore, the phenomenon of backlash is unlikely to occur, and it is easy for a beginner to conduct casting. However, this type reel for fishing is disadvantageous as follows. While the spool is rotating, a braking force corresponding to the rotational speed of the spool is generated at all times. Accordingly, even at the end of casting in which the rotational speed of the spool is decreased, the braking force acts on the spool. Therefore, it is impossible to extend a flying distance of the fishing tackle. Further, since the freely rotating performance of the spool is deteriorated by the magnetic action, it is impossible to raise a rotational speed of the spool quickly. Therefore, this type reel for fishing is not suitable for shot casting in which the fishing tackle is cast in a short distance.